


Late nights

by cocorobo



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
Genre: Affection, Kissing, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-20
Updated: 2015-01-05
Packaged: 2018-02-14 00:42:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2171445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cocorobo/pseuds/cocorobo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>TMNT 2014 reader/raph. A Collection of one-shots with a bit of continuity to them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

You aren’t sure why Raphael sounded so urgent on the surprise phone call. The phone call which was clearly not from a normal phone, given the static in the phone and the way the call nearly dropped every few seconds. Sure you hadn’t seen him in a few days; or was it a week? It all blurred together for you while he was off doing what he did best-defend the city- and you kept going to work and minding your business. So for him to contact you so suddenly, this didn’t seem like him in all the time you’ve known each other.

Nevertheless, you go to meet him, deep in Central Park near the boat house, 1 a.m. Despite being such a large park in a large city, it is abandoned for the night. You wait in the shadows of the boathouse itself, watching what you can see of the stars.

You don’t notice Raph coming up behind you, turning you around and pinning you to the wall in the corner, hidden by darkness. The only thing you can do is feel his weight against you, as much of it as he’ll allow, and rough skin.  
You were never sure how things started between you two. Raphael happened upon you getting nearly mugged (He stepped in, obviously) and since then Raphael managed to find out where you live, work, and even jog. Normally that sort of thing would freak you out, scare you, make you go to the police, but Raphael made his intentions clear from the start: He liked you, he wanted to see you, and if you told him to go away, he would. You’d been tempted to test that out but never did. Underneath the gruff demeanor Raphael was, to your surprise, a bit of a softy. A big softy who was right now nudging you affectionately with his head.

  
“Been wanting to see you” he said, a hoarse whisper. You nod and nudge him back.  
“I was beginning to think you forgot about me.” You joke but feel him pull away a little, and you can’t help but worry you offended him.

That’s when he grabs your face and mashes it to his, kissing you and pressing you back into the wall again. He’s towering over you and rough and clearly inexperienced with this but you kiss back and groan and you’re not sure where to grab so you just awkwardly leave your hands on his shoulders. It’s not every day you start dating a giant mutant turtle. It’s also not every day that you date a giant mutant turtle for a month or two and he misses you this much.

“Sorry” He pulls way just enough and chuckles, touching his forehead to yours. You shake your head.  
“Don’t apologize.” Raph runs a digit along your cheek.  
“I’m sorry cuz that’s about all I got for time.” Raph presses a kiss to your cheek, lingering for a few moments before moving to kiss your forehead.  
The cool night air rushes between you as he pulls away further, and you can hear him fumbling with something. Raph takes your hand and pressed a piece of paper into it.  
“If you wanna see me without me having to hunt you down, just call April. She’s family, she’ll hook you up.” Raphael said, keeping his voice low still. You smiled even though neither of you can see it.  
“I will, be safe.”  
“You too”  
And with that he’s gone. You walk quickly out of the park, the sounds of the city calling you back to the steel jungle. On the Subway back to your apartment, you look at the number. You wonder if he wrote it or if he asked this April to write it down for him. You smile to yourself as you yawn and wait for your stop.


	2. Creep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decided to add another chapter! This one is a bit longer than the previous one. 
> 
> The song featured is "Creep" by radiohead from this playlist: http://8tracks.com/anon-100000262888974/i-only-saw-batman-once-a-raphael-fanmix
> 
> These are becoming quite a treat for me to write. I hope you enjoy these intimate moments! :)

Snow was falling, winter was finally here after the long wait, and things were going fairly well for you and Raphael. You had even managed to convince him to come to your apartment once or twice, offerings of Chinese food or the ever irresistible pizza getting him to cave. You kept your relationship with him private as far as friends and family were concerned; Raphael didn’t mind, he didn’t want the attention anyways. Even if he didn’t say it, you could tell he still worried you’d think he was a freak, or ugly, or would run away. You didn’t blame him, and in a way you could almost understand; At the very least, you tried to.

Tonight in particular, you were walking beside him, shivering wet from falling onto the snowy sidewalks during a fistfight you got into at your second favorite bar, just after last call. You and your opponent had been forced to leave by the bartender and so you lead them out back and landed a few good blows before being over powered, knocked to the ground and earning yourself a black eye and a bloody nose before Raphael stepped in, having apparently been keeping an eye out for you while making his rounds.

He was quiet and you got the feeling he was mad at you, and so you remained silent, shivering and shaking and seemingly unable to dry off fast enough. Thankfully you were close to your apartment but you worried you wouldn’t be able to convince Raphael to stay.

Raphael looks down at you, and you looked up like a kicked puppy, blood frozen on your face and your lip quivering. He sighs and rolls his eyes, leaning down and giving you a kiss on the lips. You suppose this is his way of saying he isn’t mad.

“You okay?” he says gruffly.

“Yea, just cold, I’ll order a pizza if you stay.” You begin the bartering process.

“Done deal.” He says to your surprise. “Gotta make sure my lil fighter is okay” He gives you a half-smirk and ruffles your hair and chuckles as you groan a little out of embarrassment.

“I got my ass handed to me, Raph.” You reply and he shakes his head.

You finally notice the scarf and hat he is wearing. He must still be cold.

“I’ll show you some moves sometime, how about that?”

“Sounds good,” You say as you finally reach your apartment, lowering the fire escape so you can both make the climb up to the tenth floor. You open the window from the outside, having placed a small piece of wood there to keep it open just enough to push it the rest of the way, and slide in, opening the window completely so Raph could squeeze in after you. Your apartment is a somewhat roomy studio apartment with your bed in one corner and your “media area” in another, with a couch facing away from the bed and a TV stand and television in the other corner.

You throw your jacket into the corner with the rest of the dirty laundry pile, just shy of the hamper, and stretch, peeling your wet shirt off. You can feel Raphael’s eyes on you but you honestly just can’t bring yourself to care enough. “I’m going to take a shower, go ahead and use my computer to put the order in if you want.” You say as you disappear into the bathroom. You catch a glimpse of the dumbfounded look on his face. Was he blushing? You chuckle to yourself as you shut the bathroom door, strip the rest of the way, and turn the hot water on.

Almost as soon as you step into the shower you hear Raphael’s voice at the bathroom door. “Food’ll be here in 30.” “Awesome!” you poke your head out of the curtains, “Feel free to put on a movie or something.” You take the silence as a sign that Raphael has moved away from the door to explore your apartment. You continue to enjoy the shower, happy to have your body heat returning to you as opposed to being so cold before. You finish your shower, dry off quickly, throw a towel around yourself and leave the bathroom, steam trailing behind you. Raphael has planted himself in front of your couch and jumps when you turn on your Bluetooth speaker.

 

 

_When you were here before_

_Couldn't look you in the eye_

_You're just like an angel_

_Your skin makes me cry_

 

_You float like a feather_

_In a beautiful world_

_I wish I was special_

_You're so fucking special_

 

 

The song starts as you move to the dresser near your bed, pulling on a loose tank top and some underpants, Raph watching you unblinkingly all the while. You meet his gaze and smile, and he looks away shyly.

 

 

_But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo_

_What the hell am I doing here?_

_I don't belong here_

 

_I don't care if it hurts_

_I want to have control_

_I want a perfect body_

_I want a perfect soul_

 

 

Raphael reaches up and takes off his mask. You can’t see it from where you are, but the lyrics to the song are resonating in him. He’s had these thoughts before but he’d be damned before he’d let anyone know that. The doorbell rings and you go answer it, Raph making sure he stays out of the pizza delivery guy’s line of vision. You take the two boxes of pizza in and shut the door with your foot. Heading to where Raphael is, you put the two boxes next to him and go grab some plates and sodas for you both.

 

 

_I want you to notice_

_When I'm not around_

_You're so fucking special_

_I wish I was special_

 

_But I'm a creep,_

_I'm a weirdo_

_What the hell am I doing here?_

_I don't belong here_

 

You come back and sit down in front of Raphael, and before you can even dig into the pizza he wraps his arms around you, and you take note of how everything about him dwarfs you. He pulls you closer and nuzzles his face into your neck. You’ve learned over the past few months how big of a deal it is for Raphael to behave this way, having spoken to April on multiple occasions. You feel his lips press against your neck and you lean your head instinctively to give him room. His hands move to your thighs, rubbing slowly, softly. You reach a hand up to touch his head as he continues to press soft kisses into your neck, making his way to your shoulder and resting there for a while. You rest your free hand on top of one of his, gulping and licking your lips nervously.

 

_She's running out the door_

_She's running out_

_She run, run, run, run_

_Run_

 

 

_Whatever makes you happy_

_Whatever you want_

_You're so fucking special_

_I wish I was special_

 

Suddenly Raphael moves again, and you find yourself looking up at him, one of his arms around your shoulders, supporting you, the other moving to place a hand at your waist. He smirks at the surprised look on your face and pulls you up into a long, chaste kiss. You make the move to deepen the kiss, which elicits a low groan from Raphael, which in turn runs a shiver up your spine.

 

_But I'm a creep,_

_I'm a weirdo_

_What the hell am I doing here?_

_I don't belong here_

_I don't belong here_

 

As the song ends, you don’t let Raphael pull away, pressing your forehead to his. You give his nose a soft peck and he does that half-smile that makes your heart pound. He then kisses your black eye very softly, being careful not to hurt you.

“Let’s eat before the pizza gets cold.” You suggest and he nods, sitting up and letting you free to open the pizza and load up each plate with slices. You put on a movie and get up quickly to turn the Bluetooth speaker off, returning to the same spot and settling against Raphael, yawning as you enjoy your late night dinner.


	3. A Sucker with no Self Esteem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finished! Turned out a bit sadder than originally intended but I hope you like it!

Halloween is one of your favorite times of the year. You stopped trick-or-treating once you were old enough to drink, but you still love getting dressed up. Raphael told you about how Donatello and Michelangelo loved to go out because it was the one night of the year they could; most people were too drunk to realize they weren’t in costume (the brothers stuck to Greenwich Village). Leonardo outgrew the festivities at some point growing up, and Raphael never liked it after he spent the night getting poked and prodded by curious passerby who were “Impressed by the detail of his costume.” You’d never tell him but that part of the story always made you laugh. 

With some convincing by Donatello, Michelangelo, and yourself, Raphael agreed to come out for Halloween this year. You have a feeling it is mostly because he saw what you were wearing and replied with “there is NO WAY you are going out in public wearing that without me.” Which normally would annoy you but with Raphael it gave you a bit of an ego boost.   
Despite the smell, you find the network of sewers the turtles use to get around more useful than the subway. Okay maybe not MORE useful but it ranked up there, higher than taking the bus anyways. The exit used for Halloween is one just outside of Greenwich Village, given how busy it is because of the Halloween Parade.   
While Donatello and Michelangelo seemed thrilled, Raphael was the polar opposite, shuffling about, grumpy. You figure it’s just him reliving the memories of the “detailed costume” story, so you brush it off, not worrying about his mood. 

Suddenly Mikey shouted something and ran off into the crowd. When you moved to follow him Donny stopped you “Don’t worry about him he’ll find us again. I think he saw April.” Sure enough Mikey returned, April on his arm, dressed as a cat. Simple all black outfit with ears and trail, smile plastered on her face. As soon as she sees you she pulls you into a tight hug.  
“It’s so nice to see you again! I’m sorry I’ve been so busy lately, I was lucky I even got tonight off.” 

“It’s okay!” You reply and turn to see Raph watching you all sullenly. “Raph’s in a sour mood. I think he’s worried about a repeat of his last Halloween.” April tried to stifle a laugh and knew to look away from Raph. He read into body language a lot and he would take that badly.   
Music filled the air around you all and soon enough Mikey was dancing, followed by April, and eventually you even joined in. Donny politely declined, content to people watch and compliment others on their costumes, all while keeping an eye on Raph, who was keeping an eye on you. You don’t think much of having him chaperone you; Halloween is your time to have fun. You find others joining in your trio’s dancing, others clapping along; it’s all in good fun as another dancer pulls you closer and you start doing the tango, laughing and spinning.   
When you finish dancing and wave goodbye to your partner you notice Raph isn’t there. You look to April, who shrugs and starts helping you look, Mikey in tow. Donny finds you and you ask   
“Where did Raph go?”  
He responds with “I’m not sure, I lost track of him.” You notice a young woman at his side, shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a white and light-blue costume with a visor over her eyes. You nod and sigh, shoulders dropping. 

You and the others search for Raph long after people have left, it is nearly dawn before you and Donny and his companion run into Leo, who asks Donny worriedly where he’s been all night. When he says “Looking for Raph.” Leo gives him a quizzical look. “Raph came home hours ago. He was really upset, what happened?”  
It hits you that this may have been your fault. You lower your head and try to hide how upset you are with yourself.   
Donny shakes his head at Leo “I’ll let you know on the way back, let’s grab Mikey.” Leo nods as Donny says goodbye to the young woman, who puts a hand on your shoulder   
“I’m sure things will be okay.” She says quietly before walking to the nearest subway entrance for her train. You aren't so sure as you do the same, descending into the subway station to make your way home.


	4. Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been awhile hasn't it? Well I'm back with the next chapter of this reader/raph story :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((it's just a teaser so far you guys~ I'll keep plugging away at this. I just wanted to establish that the only thing I wanted set in stone is that you're the same age as Raphael, because the movie canon establishes them at 15 years old and I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable with an age difference ))

A few weeks pass, and you haven't heard from Raph, though not for lack of trying. Ever since Halloween you've talked to April and gotten in touch with Donnie who would give you a shrug and say "He just needs more time." Though the tone in his voice always sounds unsure. You worry, you leave your window unlocked, and you cry. You cry a lot because you really really like him and you're afraid. 

You find yourself spending more time with April, and you tell her she's welcome to come over to your apartment whenever she wants. She was a bit surprised at first, asking, "You live alone?"

"Not really" you reply, walking through central park with the reporter during her lunch break. "I live with family, but they work a ton of hours, so I kind of have run of the apartment." She nods and sips on a water. "So yea whenever you want to come over you're welcome to."

She comes over whenever you're alone for the night. Maybe someday you'll introduce her to your family, but right now you didn't want to have to come up with a lie for how you know April O'Neill. 

April is a great friend, bringing over bad movies, ice cream, pizza, whatever you feel like eating. Sometimes she doesn't bring any food at all and simply offers you her company. 

When you start to get upset she rubs your back and pulls you into a sisterly embrace. "You're both really young, once he calms down I'm sure he'll come see you." You're only 15, relationships shouldn't be this painful, you think to yourself. 

You go to more bars with your older friends, you get in more fights. You know you're pulling a Bella Swan trying to get his attention but for every bloody nose and black eye his absence becomes more and more permanent in your mind. 

 Raphael, meanwhile, is doing his best to pretend he hasn't been more surly, more short-tempered, and more angry as time goes on. First Mikey tried to get him to play games with him and when he didn't take no the first time, or the second time, or the tenth time Raph grabbed him and threw him into a stack of pizza boxes and shouted that he did not want to play any games and if he asked again he'd get a real fight. Mikey was no worse for wear but would walk on eggshells around his brother after that. This prompted Donnie and Leo to try their hand at getting him to open up and vent: Donnie saying it would be better for his health, and Leo saying that he was taking his anger out on criminals, and while sure, they fought some real scumbags, they didn't deserve the treatment Raphael gave them. 

When that didn't work Leo called April over for a pow-wow and made her promise to meet them near the boathouse of Central Park at midnight. April of course agreed, because even her patience for Raph's snippy comments and sullen behavior was wearing thin. At least this way April could get away if she needed to, though the 20-something was doubtful Raph would go after her like he did his brothers or whoever managed to cross his path when he was on patrol. 

So there he was, standing at the boathouse with his arms crossed over his chest. If it weren't for the fact that he was at over 6'5" April would have laughed, at least internally. She knew how surprisingly fragile Raph's ego was, and learned over time she had to be careful of the playful verbal jabs. Raph wasn't like Mikey, who could turn any insult into a compliment like it was nothing. 

Raph grunted again and looked away. "You know why." 

"Jealousy?" Raph flinched at the comment and continued to refuse eye contact. 

"I'm a freak. It was only a matter of time." He replied. Which made April roll her eyes because she'd heard this excuse what felt like a million times from the teen. For someone who was nearing seven feet tall with biceps bigger than....well a lot of things....he had a lot of self-esteem issues. It wasn't as if April couldn't sympathize with him, she was a teenager once after all. She didn't "blossom" until after high school even.

"Why worry about the future when you had something good going in the present?" April asked. "I get it, you're scared but what evidence did you have to worry at all?" When Raph didn't answer her she stood right in front of him, looked up at the sullen turtle. "Come on Raph, just go talk to them." April thought before speaking again. "They miss you. A lot." She didn't want to get into the details of how depressed you were, but Raph looked up. 

"Yea?" He asked and April nodded. She gave Raph a smirk and seemed to check her phone before asking him.

"Do you miss them?"

Raphael nodded "More'n anything." April seemed pleased with this response, Raph watching her send a text and looked up at him. 

You get the text and come out from behind the boathouse. You had heard every word between the too, and it was clear on your face. Raph looked shocked and a little betrayed at April, then his gaze shift to you and he looked more like a guilty puppy. You wave a little, nervous at the prospect of putting yourself out there. Sure he missed you, but did he want you back?

Your internal question is answered when Raphael wordlessly scoops you up into his arms, holding you tight to him and whispering a hoarse-voiced apology. He doesn't let go, he doesn't let you move away as you wrap your arms around him as best you can and nod. "I shouldn't have made you jealous like that." You whisper to him, closing your eyes. "It wasn't fair of me to do that to you." Raph pulls away to pressed a kiss to your cheek. 

"I forgive you. If I was you I woulda done the same thing." He smirked and you smile back. April sighs happily and turns to leave you two alone, knowing you're safe with Raphael.

Fin


End file.
